Corruption in RP abating — AmCham

American business executives in the Philippines perceive corruption in the country to have lessened and are even expecting to expand their business operations in the ASEAN region, according to a recent survey by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham).

The result of the survey, released yesterday, showed that the level of concern about corruption has dropped slightly in the Philippines and Indonesia.

Only 77 percent of AmCham members in the Philippines expressed concern about corruption, down from 88 percent in 2005. In Indonesia, those expressing concern about corruption had also dropped significantly to 88 percent from 96 percent last year.

Government institutions in Singapore continued to score high marks in this area.

Overall, corruption and dissatisfaction with local customs and taxation and revenue offices remain impediments to doing business in the region (except in Singapore), although dissatisfaction levels have mitigated slightly.

"Other than in Singapore, corruption continues to be identified as the major impediment to doing business in the region and is a source of high dissatisfaction for members," AmCham Philippines executive director Robert Sears said. "This, in combination with weak laws and regulations, has a significant effect on investment decisions and is a vital competitiveness issue."

Senior executives in American companies in the ASEAN region are also increasingly confident of business growth, workforce expansion and profit for businesses catering to the ASEAN market and are generally optimistic of the prospects of the world economy.

The survey also showed that 80 percent of American senior managers expect to expand their business operations in the region while only three percent think their operations will shrink.

Sixty-two percent believe that the ASEAN market will be more important to their company’s global revenues in the next two years, due to the economic recovery in the region and improvements in infrastructure.

Sixty-eight percent are optimistic of profit growth this year, with members from Malaysia (75 percent) and Vietnam (76 percent) saying that they are confident of an increase in profits.

The AmCham Outlook is the fifth annual survey of members of American Chambers of Commerce in the ASEAN region, who together represent an estimated $50 billion in regional investment.

Sears said the survey results indicate that there is a fundamental sense of confidence in ASEAN markets.

"Our members regard ASEAN as increasingly important to company revenues. The region holds enormous potential, and local economic recovery, improvements in infrastructure and limited opportunities in other regions mean businesses will continue to grow and profit here," Sears said.

AmCham members in all countries surveyed were optimistic about business growth, with those from Malaysia being more upbeat, with 90 percent of its members saying they are expecting business expansion.

Most members (58 percent) also expect local workforces to expand, with over half expecting local workforce increases of 10 to 50 percent from current levels. Only seven percent said they were expecting decreases. Members from Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam were most positive about local workforce expansion.

Most said though that expatriate workforce would remain the same, while 13 percent said there may be a decrease.

Members from Malaysia (64 percent) and the Philippines (58 percent) also expressed strong satisfaction with office lease and housing costs, while this issue continued to be a source of dissatisfaction among members from Singapore and Vietnam.

Singapore was rated favorably with regard to the clarity of regulations relating to the import of goods and the fairness of their application. The survey said however that Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam have room for improvement.